Team Advance: Explorers of Heart
by HeroxPartnerfan96
Summary: Follow Ash and May on their adventures as an exploration team, finding new locations, making new friends and making many discoveries along the way! Based on Explorers of Sky, Advanceshipping/Beachshipping (Will be remade 2018)
1. And So It Begins

**Team Advance: Explorers of Heart**

 **Chapter 1: And So It Begins**

One afternoon in Treasure Town, a lone Eevee was making her way down the path to find the Kecleon Shop. The little Eevee had light brown fur, a long bushy tail which was cream coloured at the tip, a cream coloured fur collar, big dark brown eyes, long pointy ears and a small black nose: her name was May. As May looked around, she could see that Treasure Town was as busy as ever with various Pokemon engaged in conversation with each other as well as others having a look around the shops to find items they were searching for. May then showed a bright smile as she turned her head to spot the shop she was looking for, and then she ran over to see two Kecleon behind the counters, one green and one light purple. "Hi, Kecleon Brothers!" May cheerfully called, lifting one paw up to wave to them. The Kecleon Brothers turned their heads and showed matching big smiles as May walked over.

"Oh, if isn't May! How are you today?" The green Kecleon asked as May arrived at the counter to talk to them; the two always looked forward to when May came to see them.

"I'm doing great! Tomorrow's going to be a big day for me: it'll be the day I go to join Wigglytuff's Guild and be part of an exploration team!" May happily replied. The Kecleon Brothers stared in silence for a few moments before they both showed big smiles and jumped in excitement.

"That's wonderful news! Please be sure to tell us about it after you register." The purple Kecleon commented. May simply nodded; she was looking forward to that just as much as the Kecleon Brothers were and she knew they were both supporting her.

That night, May had arrived back at her home which was a open area at Sharpedo Bluff; she was looking out at the night sky from the mouth with her bag placed beside the bed, and she could see that there were large dark clouds blowing towards the area Treasure Town was in. "Oh, it looks like it's going to be a pretty big storm tonight. I better get to bed early if I'm going to be ready to go for tomorrow." May commented, showing an expression of concern seeing how the dark the clouds looked; if that was much to go by, she had a feeling that the storm coming would be pretty vicious. So with this, she turned and walked over to her small straw bed before laying down on it and closing her eyes, ready to get some sleep.

Later into the night, the storm came bringing a heavy downpour, strong winds and flashes of lightning lighting up the stormy sky. As May was asleep, a flash of lightning went off causing her to jump and look around in fright. "Woah, that storm is rough!" May gasped, turning to look outside and notice the storm blowing violently outside. She then showed an expression of worry as she noticed the lightning strikes from out in the distance; as long as she could remember, she had always been scared of lightning. She wasn't sure why, but there was just something about the fact that lightning could strike anywhere that made her worry that she could be a possible target. "I should probably try not to think about the storm; after all, I need to get enough sleep for tomorrow. Because…that will be the day I finally make my dream of becoming an explorer a reality!" May commented to herself, a smile slowly showing on her face during this self-reassurance. She then nodded once in confirmation before lying back down on the bed to get back to sleep.

The next morning, May slowly opened her eyes and turned her head to see that the storm clouds had passed and the sun was shining brightly in their place. "It looks like the storm blew over during the night." May commented to herself. She then showed a bright smile as she remembered what day it was today. "Well…today's the day: the day I start training to be an explorer! I better get a move on to find the guild." May said to herself. She then turned and made her way up the stairs before she arrived at the top of the Cliffside and made her way down the path; she had a big day ahead of her.

It didn't take too long for May to arrive where the guild was, and now she found herself standing in front of the gateway and she was staring in uncertainty, wondering what she should do. Now that she was here, she was starting to feel her nerves get the better of her. May started to pace back and forth for a bit as she was trying to decide what she should do, before she turned her attention back to the gate with an expression of determination crossing her face. "No. I'm not going to be paralysed by this. I've been preparing for this for a long time, so I'm not backing down now." May stated. With this, she started to walk towards the doorway, but she didn't notice the grate on the ground so she stepped on it without realising, and before she had a chance to react, she was startled by a voice coming from the hole below.

"Footprint detected! Footprint detected!" A small voice called from the hole, prompting May to jump from alarm. About a second later, a second voice rang out, though this one was louder and sounded different from the first one.

"Whose footprint? Whose footprint?" The second voice asked. "The footprint is Eevee's! The footprint is Eevee's!" The first voice replied. May let out a scream of alarm and frantically took a couple of steps back until she was standing at least a mile away from the grate.

"That was terrifying!" May cried. After taking a few seconds to calm herself down, May let out a sigh of relief. But that relief quickly gave way to self-shame as May showed an expression of disappointment. "I… I can't bring myself to go in there. I promised myself that I would do it today…" May sadly said to herself. She then lifted the front part of her bag open with her mouth and looked in it to see a small stone sitting safely in the middle of her bag. "I thought that bringing my personal treasure would inspire me…" She then grabbed the front flap of the bag with her mouth and lifted it over the rest, closing the bag. After a few seconds, she then slowly shook her head in dismay. "I just can't do it… This is so discouraging…" May sadly sighed. With this, she turned around and slowly walked away down the path, but instead of turning right, she kept walking straight to get to the beach.

As May approached the beach, the sun was slowly setting in the evening sky, causing the colour of the sky to change from bright blue to orange and purple, and the reflection of the sun could be seen glittering in the ocean waves splashing on the coast. While this was happening, various Krabby stood on the coast as well as the rocks nearby and started to blow bubbles from their mouths which drifted into the sky. As May arrived at the coast, she turned her head and her eyes went big in awe at the display around her. "Wow… what a beautiful sight." May whispered, showing a smile of awe. She looked up to see the bubbles slowly drifting through the sky and she could see that they seemed to shine under the sun's glow, and she could also see that the vast ocean in front of her seemed to sparkle under the sun. May sat down on the sand and let out a soft sigh of content.

"This sight never ceases to be special; it's where I always come when I'm feeling down on myself. I always feel better when I come here." May silently commented; this was a sight she enjoyed seeing. She then looked down to think, showing a small expression of concern. "It would be nice if I had someone to share special sights like this with…" May added to herself, looking up to see the setting sun.

May never mentioned this out loud to anyone, but there was something else she dreamed of besides becoming an explorer: she dreamed of having someone special in her life, someone she could share her secrets, her dreams and her feelings with. While she knew that her chances of anyone wanting to be with her were unlikely no thanks for her cowardly nature, she wasn't going to let that stop her; she knew that out there in the world, there was someone who would always support her, who would like her for who she was and would promise her the world. May let out a cheerful sigh as a smile crossed her face thinking about that; she was looking to when that day came.

Just then, May's ears perked up as she seemed to spot something and she turned her head to the left showing an expression of surprise. "Hm? What's that over there?" May asked. She stood up properly and started to walk over to find out what it could be and when she got close, she let out a gasp when she saw that just up ahead…there was someone lying unconscious on the sand! "Oh no! There's someone just up ahead!" May gasped. She then ran over to have a closer look and saw that the person, or Pokemon, rather, in question was a Pikachu. "Are you alright? Can you hear me?" May asked, gently nudging the Pikachu with an expression of worry. She then waited for a few seconds as she seemed to get no response from the Pikachu. "This isn't good…I don't think he's moving. He couldn't be…" May worriedly said to herself, looking down in fear that the worst had happened. But then, her worries quickly disappeared as she looked up to see the Pikachu slowly started to move and after a few seconds, started to open his eyes.

"What…what's going on? How…did I get here?" The Pikachu quietly asked, slowly looking around in surprised silence. He then lifted his glance to see May looking down at him with an expression of concern. "Is that…an Eevee?" he then asked.

"Hey, are you alright?" May gently asked. The Pikachu's eyes then quickly popped open as he showed an expression of surprise upon hearing May ask him that. ' _Is that Eevee…talking to me? How is it even able to speak? I wonder…if I'll be able to answer back.'_ The Pikachu thought to himself. With this, he slowly sat up while May took a few steps back before shaking his head rapidly, and then turned his head to May before slowly nodding. "I think so… Where am I?" The Pikachu asked.

May showed a smile of relief hearing this. "You're on the beach. You were unconscious, so I ran over to see if you were okay. You weren't moving and I got scared that something might have happened to you. But it's good to know that you're okay! I don't know what I would have done if that wasn't the case." May explained. The Pikachu simply tilted his head, showing an expression of puzzlement as he started to wonder how he got here in the first place. "My name's May. Who are you?" May asked.

The Pikachu then showed a smile, deciding that maybe he should go along with this for the time being. "Nice to meet you, May. I'm Ash." he simply replied. May showed a bright smile and nodded in understanding.

"Ash? That's a nice name; I like it! It's great to meet you, Ash. Do you remember how you ended up unconscious here?" May asked, showing an expression of concern as she was wondering how Ash got here as well. Ash looked down to think as he was wondering the same thing as May; how did he end up here? But after a few seconds, nothing seemed to come clear in Ash's mind so he looked up at May and shook his head. "Oh, that's a shame…" May sighed, showing an expression of disappointment. But that disappointment was quickly replaced as May showed a bright smile and shook her head.

"But that's not a problem! I guess it would be hard to remember much after being in a storm like that." May commented. Ash showed an expression of surprise; there was a storm? Maybe that was the reason he couldn't figure out how he ended up here; he was caught in the vicious storm last night. "I don't think I've ever seen anyone like you before, Ash. I mean, it's not really every day you see a Pokemon wash up on a beach the way you did." May commented, showing a bright smile.

"Well, it's funny you should mention that, because it gets a lot stranger than you realise." Ash replied. May showed an expression of surprise wondering what Ash meant, and turned her attention to him so she could hear what he had to say. "You see, May…I'm actually a human." Ash explained. May was silent for a few seconds before she jumped with an expression of alarm on her face.

"Really? But… you look like a normal Pikachu to me." May said. Ash showed an expression of surprise at this and looked down at his hands to be met with small chubby hands connected to matching arms. Ash stared in alarm, wondering what was going on, and turned his head to look at his reflection in the ocean and found himself face-to-face with long pointy ears that were black at the tips, bright red cheeks and small black eyes. After taking a few seconds to let the sight in front of him sink in, Ash jumped back in immense alarm.

"Waaahhh! What?! I'm a Pikachu?!" Ash gasped. He then started to run back and forth across the coast while May watched in surprise. "Wha… How did this happen? How did this happen!?" Ash worriedly asked as he was running; he couldn't tell whether he was dreaming this or not, and if so, he wanted this to be over soon.

As May watched Ash run past her, she promptly grabbed Ash's tail in her mouth to stop him. Unfortunately, that proved to be a big mistake as it caused Ash to let out a scream before releasing a strong bolt of electricity which she had the misfortune of getting hit by. After a few seconds, the electricity died down and May was left twitching with her whole fur standing up on end. "Wow, Ash… that's really strong…" May muttered as she was twitching, before she dropped on the sand on her side.

Ash then stood up to take a few moments to calm himself down. Once that was done, he turned around to face May again and noticed her lying on the sand having been electrocuted. "May! Are you okay?" Ash gasped, running over to her with an expression of concern. His question was quickly answered as May slowly stood up and shook herself rapidly to fix up her fur. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to do that to you. I guess I might have panicked…" Ash explained, scratching the side of his head nervously.

Once May made sure that all of her fur was standing properly again, she turned her glance back to Ash. "That's okay. But the next time you do something like that, try to make sure that no one's in the way!" May replied, showing an expression of annoyance at being shocked at that. Ash nearly jumped hearing May's reply to this, but he simply nodded in agreement deciding not to argue with that. Now that that was dealt with, May then showed an expression of puzzlement. "So… you're really a human? That's a bit hard to believe. Are you sure you aren't playing a trick on me, Ash?" she asked.

Ash showed an expression of alarm hearing this and quickly shook his head. "No, of course not! I wouldn't ever lie about something like that." Ash quickly replied.

"So that means you're telling me the truth?" May asked. Ash gave a simply nod in reply; he wasn't sure how much he would able to stress that fact. May looked down to think for a few seconds, before she showed a bright smile and nodded in understanding. "Well…okay. It might be a bit tough to fully understand, but I believe you. You definitely don't seem to be a bad Pokemon…" May replied. Ash showed an expression of surprise, wondering what May meant by that, and then May nearly jumped upon realising what she just said and looked down showing an expression of shame as she started to worry that Ash might have taken that the wrong way. "I'm sorry I doubted you, Ash. It's just that… a lot of Pokemon around here have become more aggressive recently. It hasn't really been that safe anymore…" May quietly explained, keeping her glance down as she was worried about what Ash would say to her.

Ash was silent as he listened to May, and then he showed a smile of understanding before placing a hand underneath May's chin, prompting her to look up at him in surprise to see the smile he simply showed her. "That's all right, May. I'll bet it's not a lot of fun being stuck in a situation like that, never knowing who you can trust. But I can safely say that if there's anyone you can trust right now, it's me." Ash explained. May stared in surprise before she slowly showed a bright smile and nodded in agreement; she knew that Ash was right. As the two brightly smiled at each other, Ash turned his head to see someone coming up from behind May. "May, look out behind you!" Ash warned, quickly pointing behind May.

May turned around to see who Ash was pointing at and before she had a chance to react, she was suddenly shoved forward into Ash, causing the two to fall over and May to drop her bag, which fell open and the small stone fragment dropped out of the bag onto the sand. As May got up off of Ash, she turned her head to see the ones responsible for that shove: there were an Ekans, a Koffing and a Meowth standing there, all three of them showing smug smiles. "Whoops! Sorry, didn't see you there!" The Ekans cheekily commented. "Hope you don't mind us shoving into your business." The Koffing added, while the Meowth showed a sneaky smile. The three then started to cheerfully laugh while May showed a glare and Ash was still standing up from having been pushed backwards.

"What did you do that for?!" May snapped. Ash shook his head rapidly and then showed an expression of surprise seeing the three Pokemon standing in front of him and May. "Who are those guys?" he asked, tilted his head as he was wondering what was going on.

As if on cue at that question, the Ekans and Koffing stood back to back with the two of them having their glances on Ash and May. "We catch unsuspecting explorers by surprise!" Ekans replied. "And then we steal their items when the opportunities arise." Koffing added. The two then turned to stand side by side as they took turns at getting a chance to speak.

"To protect the world from devastation!"

"To unite all Pokemon in our nation!"

"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"

"To ascend our reach to the stars above!"

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"Team Rocket blast off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now or prepare to fight, fight, fight!"

Meowth then jumped out in front of them and posed with one hand on his hip and the other pointing up to the sky as he finished "Meowth, that's right!"

Ash and May both looked at each other with matching expressions of surprise and blinked a few times before turning their heads back to the three. "Team Rocket? I… don't think I've ever heard of you guys before." May commented, slowly shaking her head. Ash simply nodded in agreement with May. Silence filled the air for a few seconds before the Rocket Trio flopped on their backs, with James dropping from the air to land alongside the others. This didn't last long, though, as the three quickly recovered to face Ash and May.

"Well, I guess you can't say that's a surprise. We just started operating as a team overnight!" Jessie commented. "But in the short time we've been around, we've been taking the scene by storm! You wouldn't believe how much fun it is being us." James agreed with a big smile. The two then turned their glances down to see the stone fragment that had fallen out of May's bag lying right in front of us.

"Ooh, and what do we have here? Would this happen to belong to you?" Jessie asked. May turned her head wondering what Jessie was talking about and let out a gasp of horror upon seeing the stone fragment on the sand.

"That's my personal treasure!" May gasped. The Rocket Trio all looked at each other with big smiles upon hearing this. "Treasure? I'll bet that thing's worth a beauty! We'd probably rack a lot of Poke in if we sold it." Meowth commented. The Rocket Trio all showed smiles of excitement before turning their attention back to Ash and May. "Sorry to leave so soon, but we'll be taking that with us!" Meowth said, pointing to the fragment. May showed an expression of worry, but Ash quickly showed an expression of determination and stepped forward as he felt his cheeks start to crackle with electricity.

"Let's see you try it!" Ash warned, before releasing a strong bolt of electricity aiming towards the three Pokemon. The Rocket Trio all jumped in alarm and barely had enough time to run out of the way as the electricity struck the sand where they were standing. As that was happening, Meowth then turned and ran over before grabbing the stone fragment in his arms and running back to Jessie and James.

"Hey, fellas! I got the treasure!" Meowth cheered, lifting up the fragment for his partners to see. Jessie and James both showed matching smiles, thrilled by the successful theft. "Nice steal, Meowth!" James happily commented. The three then turned and started to run off to find the sign leading to Treasure Town; they were going to head over there and sell the fragment for a lot of Poke for themselves.

"Oh no, what do we do? They're getting away with my personal treasure!" May worriedly gasped, turning to Ash with an expression of worry; she wasn't sure what they were going to do if the Rocket Trio got away. Ash then let a growl under his breath before getting on all four paws. "Well, we'll have to stop them before they have the chance!" Ash replied. With this, he promptly dashed after the Rocket Trio before stopping as he stood in front of them, leaving them screeching to a halt in their tracks as he glared at them with his cheeks starting to crackle with electricity again; he felt ready to give them one nasty shock. "You're not going anywhere, Team Rocket! Now hand over the fragment before one of you gets hurt!" Ash ordered. The Rocket Trio nearly jumped before turning to each other with matching expressions of worry.

"What do we do, Jessie? He's got us cornered and we're surrounded on both sides!" James worriedly said, turning to see May standing behind them. Jessie looked in both directions, wondering what they could do, before she noticed that there was an entrance to a small cave just near where May was standing.

"I have a plan. Come on, you two. Follow me!" Jessie said, before turning to head towards the cave. James and Meowth both looked at each other for only a second before they turned to follow Jessie. Ash looked up as his cheeks stopped crackling with electricity and then turned his attention to May who was watching all the while.

"May! Don't let them get into that cave!" Ash called. May turned to see the cave entrance beside her, and then an expression of uncertainty crossed her face as she wondered what she could do. But without a moment to lose, May quickly ran and stood in front of the cave entrance leaving the Rocket Trio to stop and stare at her.

"Out of the way, you little brat! We have business to take care of!" Jessie snapped. May simply shook her head in defiance as she stared at the three with an expression of determination. "No way! You guys have my personal treasure, and I won't let you take it away from me!" May retorted. She simply stood there as the Rocket Trio glared at her, and then the three turned to see Ash running over to them, before they looked back at May; if she wasn't going to move, they would have to deal with this by force.

"Well, fine. If we can't get you to comply reasonably, then we'll deal with you ourselves! Meowth, can you do the honours?" Jessie asked, turning her head to Meowth. Meowth nodded in agreement and, with his claws extended out and glowing bright white, lunged forward towards May.

"I hate having to do this, but you've left us with little choice!" Meowth said. May quickly showed an expression of terror and, before she had a chance to react, Meowth struck her with his claws sending her flying backwards and scraping across the sand before stopping in front of Ash, who had stopped running as she lay in front on him.

"May!" Ash gasped. He then looked up to see the Rocket Trio having made their way into the cave and showed a glare having seen what they did, and then he showed an expression of worry as May lay on the sand in front of him. "May? Are you okay?" Ash asked, as he looked down at May lying unconscious. He gently nudged her for a few seconds, and then a smile of relief crossed his face as May slowly opened her eyes and stood up. "May! You're alright!" Ash happily said with a bright smile crossing his face. May shook her head rapidly before turning her glance to Ash.

"Yeah…but that was a pretty strong Slash attack. I'm just lucky I wasn't cut anywhere." May commented, looking over her body to see that she didn't have any cuts anywhere. She then looked back at Ash realising something. "Wait. Where did Team Rocket go?" she asked.

"They escaped into that cave after they attacked you." Ash replied, pointing to the cave which prompted May to turn her glance to see that sure enough, the Rocket Trio were nowhere in sight. May then let out a silent gasp and looked down as she could feel tears slowly building in her eyes.

"They're getting with my personal treasure. That means everything to me… What am I going to do now?" May sadly asked, collapsing on the sand in despair. Ash showed an expression of concern seeing how upset May was, and then he walked over to her and placed a paw on her, prompting her to look up at him in surprise.

"Don't worry, May. We'll stop them from getting away with your treasure." Ash gently said. He then looked up to see the entrance of the cave just in front of them. "It looks like we'll have to follow after them into the cave. They probably couldn't have gone too far by now. Come on, May." Ash said, turning his glance back down to May. May then stood up, brushing her tears away, and the two made their way into the cave to pursue the Rocket Trio and retrieve the fragment.

As the two entered the cave, they looked around to see that there were small pools of water scattered around the cave as well as various paths that led in different directions. "I'll bet that Team Rocket is heading down to the pit of this cave by now. We better hurry and pick up the pace if we want to catch up with them." Ash said, looking over at May walking behind him. May nodded in agreement and with this, the two started to make their way forward to find the staircases that would lead them down to the pit.

As the two were walking, May showed a bright smile as she spotted something. "Ash, look at that!" May said, pointing just beside them. Ash turned his head and looked with May to see a pile of gold coins with a 'P' symbol on them lying just nearby. May immediately ran over and gathered the coins in her paws before putting them in her paws. "What are those, exactly?" Ash asked, staring in puzzlement. May turned to him with a smile, more than happy to fill him in.

"These are Poke. They're kind of like our currency. If we save up enough, we'll be able to buy items that we need while exploring." May explained, showing the coins to Ash. Ash showed a big smile and nodded in understanding; that seemed to make sense to him. With this, May placed the coins back in her bag and the two started to set off again. As they were walking, Ash looked down to think. _'Team Rocket did mention that they were going to sell May's personal treasure for a lot of Poke. So if what May said is much to go by, then that means they were going to sell it for money! What kind of Pokemon would do something like that, especially to someone as friendly as May? And why would they attack her just to get what they want?'_ Ash thought to himself, with an expression of anger slowly crossing his face as he remembered what Meowth did to May, striking her like that just for their own personal gain. The thought of someone being treated that way was making Ash's blood start to boil and he started to growl under his breath from anger.

"Oh, that Team Rocket... I'll teach them a lesson for doing that!" Ash suddenly yelled out, which prompted May to jump and look at him with an expression of surprise. Before May could have a chance to ask him what was wrong, Ash then dashed off ahead and made his way down the staircase to the next floor, while May followed after him.

Down at the pit, the Rocket Trio were all looking at the fragment they had successfully snatched, all with matching big smiles. "Can you believe it how easy that was? True, it was a bit tough just getting away from those two, but in the end we were able to pull this heist off!" Jessie cheerfully commented. "I know! I didn't think we'd be to do it, but I'm glad I was wrong." James agreed, nodding with a big smile. As Meowth was looking at the fragment, an expression of surprise crossed his face as he noticed something he didn't initially see.

"Hey, check this out, fellas!" Meowth said. Jessie and James both turned their heads, wondering what it was that Meowth noticed. "This fragment here looks like it's got some sort of carving on it." Meowth commented, pointing to the front of the fragment. Jessie and James both looked with him to see that sure enough, there was a carving on the front of the fragment; it looked like some kind of heart figure along with spiked shapes on each side of the heart. "What do you suppose that could mean?" Meowth asked, scratching his head in puzzlement.

"I guess it's not really that important. What is important is finding a store that will have it and selling it there to get ourselves a large sum of Poke!" Jessie replied, with the trio all looking at each other with matching smiles. James and Meowth both nodded in agreement; they just needed to find a way out of this pit and then they'd be set.

Back with Ash and May, May was struggling to catch up with Ash as he had already rushed off ahead to find where Team Rocket went. "Ash? Ash, where did you go?" May asked, with an expression of concern written all over her face; she had lost track of him as he seemed to have gone off in a fit of rage. "What could have happened to get Ash worked up like this?" May asked herself, looking down in worry. After a few seconds to think, May then looked up as she realised what the problem was. "Of course! Ash must have been thinking about what Team Rocket did. I guess he must have gotten upset about it and really wants to teach them a lesson for it. But if I don't find him soon..." May slowly trailed off, as she didn't want to imagine what would happen if she didn't find Ash soon. "I better hurry and catch up with him!" May then said before she started to rush off to find where Ash went.

Meanwhile with Ash, he was still ahead of May, but he was more or less feeling less enraged than how he started. As he was silent to think about how he was acting, he then heard someone calling from behind him. "Ash, wait up!" Ash then turned his head to see that it was May; she was running over to catch up with him. "There you are! I've been looking all over this floor for you. What's the matter?" May asked, showing an expression of concern as she was wondering why Ash was acting like this. Ash let out a sigh and sat down, leaning against a wall while May looked at her in concern.

"I'm sorry about this, May. It's just... I can't stand what Team Rocket is doing, stealing something that's really important to you and actually attacking you just to get away with it. That kind of thing is something I can never stand seeing and it's something I don't take lightly. I hope you understand why I got so upset by it." Ash explained. May was silent as she listened to this; once Ash put it in those terms, it really made a lot of sense to her as to why Ash would take this that personally. With this, May showed a bright smile and nodded in understanding.

"That's okay, Ash. I know that feeling myself; I can never manage seeing things like that either. But it's nothing to worry about, okay?" May softly replied. Ash looked up at May to see her bright smile and then he couldn't help himself smiling back before standing back up.

"Thanks, May. You ready to get going?" Ash asked. May nodded in agreement, so the two turned and started to walk off together towards the staircase that led to the pit.

As the two arrived at the pit of the cave, they could see the Rocket Trio nearby with the fragment. Without much hesitance, May stepped forward while Ash followed behind her. "Uh... hey, you guys!" May called. Hearing something from behind them, the Rocket Trio all turned around to see Ash and May walking over.

"Well, well, if it isn't those two again. Come back for more, have you?" Jessie asked, while Meowth stepped in front of her and James with his claws glowing white. May took a step back, feeling her nerves getting the better of her, but then she turned her head to see Ash staring at the Rocket Trio with an expression of determination. _'Ash isn't fazed by them at all. If he can stand up to them without any problem, then I think I might be able to too!'_ May said to herself. With this, she nodded and then walked back up so she was standing right beside Ash.

"You...you give back what you stole from me! That's my personal treasure!" May snapped. The Rocket Trio all looked at each other before Jessie showed the fragment balancing on the tip of her tail. "Oh, you mean this? Well, try to come and get it!" Jessie replied. With this, Meowth leapt up into the air and aimed his claws down, aiming for May again. But this time, May quickly dashed out of the way as Meowth struck the sand where she was once standing instead.

"You ready, May?" Ash asked. May turned to Ash and simply nodded and with this, the two looked at the Rocket Trio ready for battle. Ash made the first move with him immediately charging forward and slamming into Meowth head-first, sending him flying backwards as Jessie and James watched in alarm.

"So you want to play it rough, do you? Well, let's go then!" Jessie said as she and James looked back at Ash and May with matching glares on their faces. With that, the two both charged forward towards the two, to which Ash and May jumped out of the way, leaving them dealing with one target each: Ash with Jessie and May with James.

Ash jumped out of the way as Jessie attempted to lash towards him and let out a strong bolt of electricity which hit Jessie directly and sent her flying back and slamming into a stone wall nearby. Ash showed a big smile seeing this. _'Woah...being turned into a Pokemon is more fun than I thought!'_ Ash cheerfully commented to himself. He then turned his head to see May dealing with James, and immediately to run over to help her out. However, as he was doing that, he didn't notice Jessie slithering up from behind him and before he had a chance to realise what was happening, he was met with a shock as Jessie wrapped her body around him to let him still. "Hey, let me go!" Ash snapped as he started kicking his feet, struggling to get free, but with little success.

Meanwhile with May, she was busy dealing with James as she went to charge into head-first, but he simply floated out of the way as May glared at him. "Let's see how you like this!" James said, before opening his mouth to release a large cloud of green smoke. May stared in alarm before quickly closing her eyes so she wouldn't get any smoke in her eyes.

"Aaah! I can't see a thing!" May gasped. As she was trying to figure out where she was, Meowth then jumped forward through the smoke with his claws glowing white and struck May directly, sending her flying much to Ash's horror as he turned his head to see this.

"May!" Ash gasped. He then showed an expression of anger and turned a glare to Jessie, who turned her head to see the fury burning in his eyes. "All right, now you've really gone and done it, Team Rocket! Let's see how you like this shock treatment!" Ash yelled. With this, he sent out a strong bolt of electricity from his cheeks which hit not just Jessie, but also James and Meowth, who barely had enough time to turn around to see what was going on before getting shocked as well. As May slowly got up shaking her head, she turned to see what was going on and her eyes went large in awe. After a few seconds, there was an explosion and the Rocket Trio were sent flying high into the sky, disappearing in a twinkle in the sky.

As the smoke cleared from the explosion, Ash was still glaring as he looked up in the direction the Rocket Trio were sent flying. "Maybe that will teach you a lesson about attacking someone like that!" Ash snapped. His expression of anger then faded as he ran over to May who was still getting up from being struck. "Are you alright, May?" Ash asked, showing an expression of concern. May shook her head rapidly before turning to Ash and nodded.

"Yeah, I think so." May simply replied. She and Ash then turned their heads to see the fragment lying on the sand in front of them. "Oh, my Relic Fragment!" May happily gasped. Without much hesitance, she ran over and grabbed it, placing it back in her bag. "I don't believe it... I managed to get it back." As Ash walked over to her seeing how happy she was to have her personal item back, May turned her glance to him showing a bright smile. "And it was because you were with me. Thank you, Ash!" May happily cheered.

Sometime later, the two had made their way out of the cave and were back on the beach, with May showing a big smile all the while. "Ash, thank you so much!" May gratefully said; she was genuinely thrilled that she had Ash's help against the Rocket Trio. Ash simply showed a matching smile; while he only seemed to help because he was there, he couldn't help feeling glad to see May so thrilled. "This is what they stole: it's my Relic Fragment. Or at least, that's what I've called it." May said, as she opened her bag and placed the fragment down on the sand for Ash to see.

Ash looked down at the Relic Fragment in silence before looking back up at May. "So this is your personal treasure, huh?" he asked. May simply nodded with a big smile.

"That's right! You see, I always like hearing legends and stories from the past; I can't properly describe it, but it's such a thrill to hear about lore like that!" May explained. She then turned her glance to the ocean underneath the sunset as her eyes went wide in awe while Ash simply looked on with her. "Don't you feel the same way, Ash? Wouldn't it be exciting to discover hidden lands that no one else knows exist, and making exciting discoveries along the way?" May asked, showing a big smile of awe. Ash couldn't help himself giggling in amusement before standing beside May with a matching smile.

"Yeah, I know that feeling. This might come as a surprise, but I enjoy travelling as well. It's always exciting for me to find out what new places I could see and what I would find there!" Ash explained. May turned to Ash staring in surprise, before her smile of awe quickly returned.

"Wow...really?" she asked. Ash simply nodded in agreement. "Ash, that's amazing!" May happily exclaimed. The two then turned their attention back to the Relic Fragment as May continued. "Anyway, I enjoy learning about things like that. So it just happened that one day, I came across this Relic Fragment. I know it doesn't seem like anything special, but have a closer look. You see that carving on the top? It almost looks like a pattern, doesn't it?" May asked, pointing to the inscription on the top of the fragment. Ash had a look down at it to see that sure enough, May was right; the pattern looked like it was in the shape of a heart along with various outlines covering around it.

"I feel like that pattern has something significant, which is why I want to become part of an exploration team. I think this fragment might fit somewhere I don't know about; I would like to find out what it means and what it's for!" May explained. Ash simply listened with a big smile; this whole exploration thing sounded like it was really exciting. "So earlier, I tried joining an exploration team as an apprentice, but..." May then looked down showing an expression of dismay as she remembered her failed attempt. "It didn't go very well... I left almost immediately..." She then let out a sigh of dismay before turning her head to Ash. "What about you, Ash? Do you have any idea of what you want to do after everything that's happened to you?" May asked.

Ash looked down in silence to think before simply shaking his head. "No, not really... I didn't really think about any of that during what was going on." Ash replied.

"If that's the case, is it all right if I ask you something?" May asked. Ash simply nodded, wanting to know what request May had for him. May then let out a silent sigh before she spoke up. "Ash... would you... like to be part of an exploration team with me?" she asked. Ash nearly jumped in surprise hearing this question; he felt like he was being recruited right out of the blue. "I know it's a bit sudden of me to ask, but I feel like we'd make a great team. I mean, did you see the way you handled Team Rocket like it wasn't a problem? I really feel like we'd be able to make this duo work. So, would you be willing to do that, please?" May continued, showing an expression of uncertainty as she was wondering what Ash would say to this.

Ash stared in stunned silence hearing all of this before he looked down to think. _'I don't really know what I want to do, plus I don't really remember much about how I got here. And...being part of an exploration team does sound like a lot of fun. I guess it wouldn't hurt that much to help May out. After all, I might have a great time being with her!'_ Ash thought to himself, showing a bright smile as his decision seemed to become easier to make. Now with his choice made, Ash turned to May with a big smile and nodded. "Sure thing, May! I would like to be part of a team with you!" Ash replied.

May stared in silence hearing this before a bright smile slowly crossed her face. "Really? You'll really be on a team with me?" she asked. Ash simply nodded, wondering how he could make his answer any clearer to her. May's smile immediately grew before she jumped up in the air in excitement. "Yay, that's great! Thank you so much!" May cheered. Ash simply looked at May with a smile, seeing how thrilled she was that he accepted; that was a sure sign he made the right choice to say yes.

"First, we need to get to Wigglytuff's Guild and sign up as apprentices. And then we'll get the proper training we need to become a full-fledged exploration team. I have a feeling that the training might be tough, but let's do our best, Ash!" May explained, showing a big smile as she was still excited that Ash accepted her offer. Hearing that, Ash promptly nodded in agreement.

"You got it, May! So long as we work together, I think there's nothing we won't be able to accomplish!" Ash replied. With this, the two then turned to face the sky and pumped a fist in the air, letting out a cheer of excitement; this was going to the start of a great team for them and, though they weren't aware of it, the start of many adventures awaiting them.


	2. Joining The Guild

**Team Advance: Explorers of Heart**

 **Chapter 2: Joining The Guild**

After a few minutes of walking, Ash and May soon found themselves standing in front of the entrance of the guild. As the two turned their glances up to the building, they could see that the roof was of a large pink Pokemon with ears pointed up that were white at the top half, its arms were stretched outwards into the sky, the windows were in the place of where its eyes would be with a single wood plank in the middle of each window, it had a big red open grin on its face and a small hair curl on the centre of the top of its head; the roof very much resembled the likeness of a Wigglytuff. After a few seconds of staring at the roof in wordlessness, Ash turned his head to May. "So this is Wigglytuff's Guild, huh?" he asked.

May turned her glance to Ash seeing him ask that and nodded. "Yeah, this is the place. We need to register here to become an exploration team, and then we need to do training until we become a full-fledged exploration team." May replied. She then turned to look at the building again and as she stared up at it, she started to shiver a bit as she felt chills crawl up her spine; this was exactly how she felt when she tried to enter the guild earlier. She then turned to Ash with an expression of worry while he turned his glance to her, wondering what was wrong. "Isn't there something just a bit odd about this place? I'm not sure what it is, but there's just something about it that's making me feel nervous." May explained. Ash stared in silence for a few seconds before he turned his glance back to the guild and slowly nodded in understanding.

"I think I know what you mean, May. I think it's because of the roof; it looks a little too strange to be real. I mean, just look at how much it looks like the Pokemon it's named after." Ash replied. May stared up at the guild in silence for a few seconds, uncertain of what she should do, before an expression of determination crossed her face and she shook her head; she didn't want to be swayed like last time.

"No... I have Ash with me this time. I'm not backing down again." May said to herself. With this, she nodded in confirmation before walking over to stand on the grate like she did the last time. After a few seconds, a small voice suddenly rang out in the hole below, prompting Ash to show an expression of surprise and May to jump from sudden shock as she was taken by surprise.

"Footprint detected! Footprint detected!" The voice called from down in the hole. After about a second, a second voice rang out, this time being louder and sounding different from the first voice. "Whose footprint? Whose footprint?" The second voice asked.

"The footprint is Eevee's! The footprint is Eevee's!" The first voice immediately replied. May nearly jumped off the grate from alarm and she could feel her entire body start to shiver from top to bottom as the urge to run away grew stronger, but she didn't want to let that overwhelm her this time; she had made it up to here, so there was no way she was going to back away now. "N-no, I can't lose it now..." May quietly said to herself in an effort to stop herself from having another panic attack. After a few seconds of waiting, the second voice suddenly yelled up from inside the hole.

"You may ENTER!" The voice called. May showed an expression of surprise hearing this, and then a bright smile crossed her face and she let out a quiet sigh of relief that she was actually able to do this. However, this didn't last very long as the voice continued to speak. "There's someone with you! So get that stranger to stand up THERE!" The voice added. May turned her gaze to see Ash standing behind her and then stepped away from the grate to let him look.

"I think they're talking about you, Ash. They said to stand up here." May commented, pointing forward at the grate for Ash to see for himself. Ash looked down at the hole to see that there was a wooden grate covering it so that others could stand up on it.

' _Looks like that was made so no one could fall through the hole by mistake.'_ Ash thought to himself. He then showed an expression of concern once he had a closer look, as it seemed a bit odd to him. _'But still, it looks really strange. It looks like it might tickle my feet or something if I go to stand on it...'_ Ash thought to himself. However, his thoughts were rudely interrupted when the voice suddenly called up from the hole prompting him and May to jump in surprise.

"Hey, you, stranger! Stand on the GRATE!" The voice yelled. Figuring that it would be best not to argue at the moment, Ash walked over and stood on the grate while May watched in silence, showing a smile of relief that she took care of her turn first. After only a second of waiting, Ash heard the first voice call out from inside the hole.

"Footprint detected! Footprint detected!" The first voice called. "Whose footprint? Whose footprint?" The second voice asked in reply. Ash and May both looked over at each other in puzzlement wondering the same thing: why did those two down there feel the need to say their statement twice in a row? It seemed a bit odd to them, but they figured not to think about it that hard.

"The footprint is... Uh..." Silence filled the air after that statement as Ash and May both looked at each other, wondering what was going on. "Sentry?! Sentry?! What's wrong, sentry Diglett?" The second voice then asked, as if it was wondering what the problem was as well.

Down in the hole, which seemed to be a large one with green vines and branches spreading down across the walls, a small brown mole Pokemon with black eyes and a light pink nose was staring up at Ash's footprint in silence; he was having a hard time trying to figure out what kind of Pokemon footprint this could be. "Umm... the footprint is..." After taking a few seconds to think about it, Diglett turned his head to the source of the second voice before calling out "Maybe Pikachu's! Maybe Pikachu's!"

"What?! MAYBE?" The second voice suddenly yelled out, surprisingly louder than it already was. Diglett nearly flinched in alarm before he showed a nervous expression; he didn't need more yelling in his ears. "But... it's not a footprint you'd usually see around here." Diglett nervously explained. There was silence before the second voice let out a sigh of annoyance, while Diglett simply stared in silence.

"Well, that's pretty crummy! Checking the footprints of visiting Pokemon is your job, ISN'T it, Diglett?" The second voice asked. Diglett simply nodded as far as he could move his head, mostly due to him sticking to digging underground and only keeping his head up. "Yes, but... I don't know what I don't know." Diglett replied.

Back up on top, Ash and May were listening in to all this and the two showed matching expressions of puzzlement before turning to each other. "Are they arguing down there?" May asked, tilting her head in surprise. "It sounds like it. I guess they're having a bit of a hard time figuring out my footprint down there." Ash replied, simply nodded; it sure sounded that way to him. However, the two's short conversation was interrupted when the second voice called up to them.

"Sorry to make you WAIT." The voice said. Ash and May both showed expressions of surprise and turned their attention back to the front entrance. "It's true that you don't see many Pikachu in these parts, but you don't SEEM to be bad..." There was silence for a few seconds as Ash and May waited to find out if they would be allowed in, before the second voice then spoke again. "Okay, good enough. You may ENTER!"

With that, the steel gate blocking the entrance to the guild slowly opened to let Ash and May in, prompting the two to jump in surprise. "Yikes, that was a bit of a shock!" May gasped, as she and Ash turned to face each other with her showing an expression of alarm. Ash nodded in agreement before turning his attention back to the entrance that was now opened up for them.

"Well, at least we've been allowed in now. What do you say to heading inside?" Ash suggested, turning his glance to May. May quickly showed a bright smile and nodded in agreement; she was just thinking the same thing. With this, the two walked towards the entrance and stepped inside to enter the guild.

Once the two arrived in, they were met with a hatch leading down underground along with a wooden ladder for them to climb down, alongside a board with a piece of paper that had red writing on it on one side and a sign with an arrow pointing down on the other side. "It looks like we can go further down from here." Ash commented. May nodded in agreement, so the two walked over and slowly climbed down the ladder, with May taking a bit longer due to the fact that she had to use all four legs to get down the ladder. Once the two arrived down at the bottom of the ladder to find themselves on the second floor with another ladder beside them leading down to the first floor, they were met with a rather surprising sight.

"Wow..." May quietly whispered with a smile of awe crossing her face as she and Ash looked around; they could see a large room with several different Pokemon inside, some of which were engaged in conversation with each other while others were looking at the boards on either side of the room. May showed a big smile as she had a look around the room while Ash showed an expression of surprise at the sights around him.

"So this is Wigglytuff's Guild..." Ash commented to himself; if he was being honest, he didn't expect the place to be this big. May didn't pay him any notice while he was saying this as she was too busy having a look at all the Pokemon that were in this one room. After a few seconds, the two turned their glances to each other with Ash showing a smile of amusement upon seeing May's excitement.

"There are so many Pokemon here! I wonder if they're all on exploration teams." May said. Ash nodded in agreement with May as he was wondering the same thing that she was. Just then, the two heard someone call out from behind them.

"Excuse me!" Upon hearing that voice, Ash and May turned their heads to see that there was a bird Pokemon there having just climbed up the ladder leading down to the first floor, who then hopped over to see them. The Pokemon in question had a black head that resembled a music note along with black eyes, a pink beak and pink eyelashes, it had a ruff of white feathers around its neck, its chest was bright yellow, its wings were light blue while the rest of its body was a bright green colour, it had bright yellow clawed feet and a long black tail with the appearance of a metronome. Ash and May could only stare in silence as the Pokemon hopped over to them before stopping just in front of them. "It was you two who just came in, right?" The Pokemon asked.

Ash and May both looked at each other before nodding in agreement. "Yes, that's right!" May replied, showing a bright smile.

"I'm Chatot! I'm the Pokemon in the know around these parts, and I am also Guildmaster Wigglytuff's right hand Pokemon." The Pokemon said. Ash and May both showed matching bright smiles; if Chatot was the one that was in charge of helping Wigglytuff in this guild, then that probably meant he could be the one to ask about registering. But before either of the two had a chance to speak, Chatot interrupted them. "Now, shoo! Leave the premises! We have no time for salespeople or silly services. Off you go, if you please!" Chatot stated, flapping his wings rapidly at the two. Ash and May both stared in alarm before Ash stepped forward to explain why they were actually here.

"That's not actually why we're here." Ash said. Chatot stopped flapping his wings and showed an expression of surprise, wondering why the two of them were really here in the guild. Ash then turned his glance to May and nodded as if to say that she could come over as well, so May walked over to stand beside Ash before he turned his glance back to Chatot. "We came to form an exploration team, and we want to get the proper training we'll need to do that." Ash explained. May nodded in agreement to say that Ash was telling the truth about that.

"An exploration team?" Chatot asked, nearly jumping from alarm at this. He turned around showing an expression of uncertainty to think about what to do about this. "It's rare to see kids like this want to be apprentices at our guild, especially given how hard our training is. Surely the steady stream of Pokemon that have run away from our rigorous must prove how true that is!" Chatot commented to himself, seemingly unaware that Ash and May could actually hear him the entire time he was speaking. The two both looked at each other in puzzlement before turning their heads back to Chatot.

"Excuse me? Is the exploration team training really that harsh?" May asked. Chatot nearly jumped and showed an expression of alarm. _'What?! They actually heard me say that?! I can't have them be scared off by something I was just saying to myself. I know for sure that Guildmaster wouldn't be happy if he learnt about that, especially after the last time it happened. I have to do something fast!'_ Chatot thought to himself, feeling shivers run down his body as he remembered what he went through after the last time he accidently scared potential apprentices away with his words. So, without a moment to spare, Chatot immediately turned around to face Ash and May and jumped up and down, flapping his wings rapidly.

"No! No, no, no, that's not true in the slightest! Our training program for exploration teams is as easy as can be!" Chatot quickly replied. He then showed a bright smile as the note shape on the end of his head and his tail started to move back and forth simultaneously. "Well, well, well! I wish you had told me upfront that you wanted to be an exploration team!" Chatot cheerfully commented. Ash and May both stared in stunned silence for a few seconds before they turned to look at each other with matching expressions of bewilderment.

"Talk about a sudden change of demeanour!" May quietly commented so Chatot wouldn't hear her. Ash simply nodded in agreement; he was thinking the same thing. The two then turned their attention back to Chatot as he spoke up again.

"Okay then, let's get your team signed up right away. Follow me!" Chatot said. He then turned and started to hop over to the ladder to head down to the bottom floor, but stopped when he saw that Ash and May weren't following him, so he turned to them with a bright smile. "Oh, is something wrong? Come on, this way! Quickly, please!" Chatot called. Ash and May nodded in understanding before they both walked over to follow Chatot down to the bottom floor. Once that was taken care of, Chatot let out a sigh of relief as he felt the stress of making sure those two would stick around lift off his chest. _'Thank goodness... that crisis has been averted.'_ Chatot thought to himself, silently expressing his gratitude that he was able to handle that issue as professionally as he did.

Soon, the three arrived on the bottom floor, where Ash and May looked around to see two hallways on both ends of the large room, as well as what looked like a stand for some kind of shop along with a door leading to another room just on the right side of the room. "This second underground is mainly where the apprentices work. Team registration is this way." Chatot explained, pointing to the door just on the right next to them. Ash and May both tilted their heads to see for themselves; that was most likely where Wigglytuff would be. As the three walked over to the door and Chatot was about to open it, something caught May's attention and she ran over to the nearby window and showed a big smile of excitement.

"Ash, look at this!" May excitedly called. Ash ran over to see what May was looking at and saw that from the window, they could still see the clear evening sky outside. "We're two floors underground, but you can still see outside! How cool is that?" May asked. Ash quickly showed a big smile and nodded in agreement. Chatot shook his head upon seeing this and figured to try and get their attention back to him so they'd listen to him.

"Oh, please hush, you two!" Chatot snapped. Ash and May both turned their heads back to Chatot, wondering why he was upset now. "The guild is built into the side of a cliff, so it's only natural you'd be able to see outside." Chatot explained. Ash and May both nodded in understanding before walking back over to listen to him. "Now, here are we at Guildmaster Wigglytuff's chamber. On no account, I repeat, on _no_ account should you be discourteous to our Guildmaster." Chatot explained. Ash and May both showed brief expressions of concern before they nodded in agreement, deciding to try and keep that in mind. With that sorted out, Chatot turned his attention to the door. "Guildmaster! It's Chatot! I'm coming in!" Chatot called. He then slowly opened the door and stepped inside the room with Ash and May following behind him.

As the three stepped into the room, Ash and May looked around to see two large treasure chests on each side of the room filled with what looked like different coloured pearls, two black unlit firewood pots, a yellow banner hanging on the front wall with the logo of a Wigglytuff's face printed in bright orange and just in the centre of the room standing on a small bright red rug was a bright pink Pokemon with small pink arms and a pink hair curl on the top of its head; that seemed like it was Wigglytuff. As Ash and May stopped to stand in front of Wigglytuff, Chatot walked over to the side and turned his glance to face him. "Guildmaster, I present to you two Pokemon who wish to make a request for you." Chatot explained. He then turned his head to Ash and May to let the two speak up. Upon realising that they had to be the ones to ask, Ash and May both slowly stepped forward until they were just a few inches away from Wigglytuff.

"We would like to become exploration apprentices at your guild. I know we don't seem like much right now, but we think that you would be able to help us receive the training we need." Ash explained. May turned her glance to Ash, staring at him in awe seeing how unfazed he seemed to be.

' _How is he able to stay so calm about this? I'm feeling Butterfree turning in my stomach, and it feels like they have a headache too.'_ May thought to herself. She then turned her attention back to Wigglytuff before nodding in agreement. "Y-yeah, that's right. So, will you help us, please?" she asked.

Silence filled the air for a few seconds as Ash and May waited for a response from Wigglytuff, but there was no answer. Ash and May both stared in puzzlement wondering if he was even paying attention to them, while Chatot simply tilted his head in bewilderment. _'Don't tell me he's doing this again...'_ Chatot sighed to himself, showing an expression of dismay. "Guildmaster... um... Guildmaster?" he then asked. There was silence for a few more seconds before Wigglytuff suddenly turned around showing his bright green eyes and a big smile on his face which prompted Ash and May to jump from surprise.

"Hiya! I'm Wigglytuff! I'm the guild's Guildmaster!" Wigglytuff cheerfully greeted waving to the two. Ash and May took a couple steps backwards, the two of them staring in disbelief at the sudden greeting. "You want to form an exploration team, right? Well then, let's go for it!" Wigglytuff continued, jumping up in excitement while everyone else in the room watched in stunned silence. Chatot was simply staring with his beak dropped open while Ash and May showed matching bright smiles hearing that Wigglytuff was going to help them out. "First, we must register your exploration team's name. So, would you like to tell me what your team's name is?" Wigglytuff asked.

May showed an expression of surprise at this. "Our team's... name? I haven't really thought of a name." she replied, slowly shaking her head in response. She then turned her glance to Ash, who had placed a paw underneath his chin as if he was thinking about something. "What's up, Ash? Do you have an idea for a name?" she asked. There was silence for a few seconds before Ash showed a bright smile as an idea clicked in his head and he then turned to May.

"I have an idea! It might not be much, but have a listen to this. Why don't we call ourselves 'Team Advance'? I mean, it really fits, doesn't it?" Ash asked. May turned her glance down to think about that idea, while the others in the room waited in silence, before a bright smile crossed her face and she nodded in agreement.

"Team Advance... that sounds great! I like it!" May cheerfully replied. Ash showed a bright smile hearing this, and then the two turned their attention back to Wigglytuff, who cheerfully nodded in confirmation hearing the two's team name.

"All settled, then! I'll register your team as Advance." Wigglytuff said. There was silence for a few moments while Ash and May waited as Wigglytuff seemed to register the name in his head and then showed a big smile. "All registered! YOOM... TAH!" Wigglytuff announced as he jumped up into the air, causing a white flash to suddenly light up the room much to Ash and May's surprise. "Congratulations! From now on, you're an official exploration team! I present this to you in commeration." Wigglytuff said, before grabbing out a golden box and placed it down on the floor in front of the two.

"What's this?" Ash asked as he and May stared at the box in surprise, before May showed a bright smile as she recognized what it was. "It's a Pokemon Exploration Team Kit. It's what every exploration team needs." May explained. Ash turned to her showing a smile of surprise.

"Wow, May. I'm surprised you know so much about all of this." Ash commented. May showed a shy smile before turning her glance down as she could feel a pink blush start to glow on her face. "Well, I have been learning about this guild, so..." May shyly replied. Wigglytuff had been listening to her and nodded in agreement.

"Yup! You really have been doing your homework about this place. Why don't you see what's inside?" Wigglytuff suggested. May promptly nodded, so she walked over and lifted the lid off the kit to reveal there was a large brown bag with a red strap on it, a small badge resting on top of the bag which had wing shapes on each side and a pink symbol in the centre and a rolled up brown map sitting comfortably beside the bag. Ash and May both stared at the items before showing matching smiles on awe.

"Look at that! There are so many great things in here!" Ash happily commented, as he and May both looked at each other with matching smiles. The two then looked up at Wigglytuff as he trotted over to show them what items there were.

"That's your Explorers Badge; it's your official team identification." Wigglytuff said, picking up the badge before handing it to Ash. He then grabbed out the map for May to have a look at. "And there's the Wonder Map, which is a wonder of convenience." Wigglytuff added. May rolled out the map onto the floor and bent down to look at it, showing a bright smile seeing how large the area on it was.

"Wow... look at how many areas there are on this! And I think the ones that are covered in clouds are areas that haven't been explored yet." May said, pointing at a large portion of the map that was covered in swirled clouds on the map. Ash had a look down at the map with her and nodded; that seemed to be the case to him.

"Finally, there's a Treasure Bag; it lets you carry items you find in dungeons. Your successes as an Exploration Team can lead to bigger space for your bag. It's a very wonderful bag! Have a peek inside." Wigglytuff explained, pointing down at the bag for the two to open it up. Ash and May both looked at each other before opening up the Treasure Bag to find two bows inside: one was a silver coloured band with red and dark blue symbols and a purple colour at the top end of its ties, and the other was a dark red bow.

"It's amazing how much great stuff we have!" May cheerfully said. She then looked down at her own small bag and turned to Ash, having an idea. "Hey, Ash? You can have my old bag; I'll hold onto the Treasure Bag." May said, removing her bag from around her neck before grabbing the strap in her mouth and placing it over Ash's shoulder. Ash looked at the bag before showing a big smile.

"Thanks, May. You want to wear this?" Ash asked, holding up the Red Bow for May to see. May nodded in agreement, so Ash pulled the band back before it was long enough and placed the bow around May's neck before slowly stretching it back so it fit perfectly around May's neck. May had a look down at the bow with a big smile and then turned her glance back to Ash.

"Thanks, Ash. I love it." May cheerfully said. The two then brightly smiled at each other before Wigglytuff walked over to them, causing the two to turn their attention to him.

"I have a feeling you two will be able to help each other really well during your adventures here. So make sure to do your best during training, and remember to have fun with it! Nothing makes explorations better than getting to enjoy yourself." Wigglytuff explained, showing a bright smile all the while. Ash and May both nodded in agreement before turning to each other.

"We sure will! Let's do our best, Ash!" May cheered. "You got it!" Ash agreed, promptly nodding. With this, the two turned and pumped their paws in the air, letting out a cheer at the same time.

Sometime later, Ash and May followed Chatot to a small room at the very bed of the right hallway; it was in the shape of a sphere with one small window allowing them to see outside and two straw beds laid out for them. "This is your room. This is where you'll be staying while you train with us." Chatot explained. Ash and May both stepped into the room to have a look for themselves, and then May quickly ran over and leapt onto one of the straw beds in excitement.

"All right! We get to have our own room and our own beds! How much better could this be?" May cheerfully asked, sitting up on the bed with a big smile on her face. Ash simply shook his head with a smile of amusement seeing how excited she was. As May trotted back over, she and Ash turned their attention to Chatot to hear what else he had to say to them.

"Things will start getting busy for you two tomorrow, so make sure not to stay up late and get to bed early. It's probably going to be a big day for you two, so make sure to get a goodnight's sleep!" Chatot explained. Ash and May both nodded in confirmation; they had gotten all of that set in their heads. Seeing that the two had heard that clearly, Chatot then turned and started to walk off down the hallway leaving the two alone. Once it was just them again, Ash and May both turned their glances to each other.

"Well, we've still got a bit of time to spare, so what do you say we go meet everyone else here?" May suggested. Ash showed a big smile and nodded in agreement with this idea. "That sounds good to me." Ash replied. With this, the two made their way out of their room and into the hallway to head back into the main floor to start meeting the other apprentices of the guild. As the two stepped out into the room, they looked around wondering where they should start.

"Let's see... who do you think we should meet first?" Ash asked. May had a look around for a few seconds, before she noticed someone standing beside a hole dug in the floor just up ahead, with a long vine leading further down into the hole. "Why don't we start with him over there?" May suggested, pointing over to the Pokemon just ahead. With that set, the two walked over to see who the Pokemon was.

At the same time that Ash and May were walking over, Loudred was looking down at the hole waiting for Diglett to arrive back up. Loudred was a box-shaped Pokemon with light blue skin, a large mouth with yellow lips and four peg-like teeth on each corner of his mouth, along with a stubby nose, two circular ears of the ends of short stalks, with the insides ringed with red and purple and the outsides ringed with black, giving them the appearance of stereos, and a pattern on his back that resembled sound waves. As Loudred was waiting for Diglett, he showed an expression of irritation as he felt his patience start to wear thin. "COME ON, Diglett! What's taking you so LONG to get up here?!" Loudred snapped, his voice almost being loud enough to deafen the Pokemon in the room around him. Ash and May both flinched and covered their ears upon hearing his voice, having just realised how loud it was. After a few more seconds of waiting, Diglett popped his head up with Loudred showing a big smile.

"Here I am, Loudred! Sorry to keep you waiting." Diglett said. While he was talking, he turned his head to see Ash and May walking over. "Oh, hello there! You must be the two that just came inside, is that right?" Diglett asked.

"Yeah, that's right." May agreed as she and Ash nodded. She then turned her glance to Ash before looking back at Diglett and Loudred as she spoke. "My name's May and over here is my new partner, Ash. We just became the new apprentices here."

"That happened just now? That's great to hear! It's nice to meet you two. My name's Diglett and just beside me is..." Before Diglett could get a chance to continue, Loudred immediately rushed over to the two with a big smile on his face.

"I'M LOUDRED! I'm a fellow APPRENTICE at the guild, and SO is Diglett!" Loudred cheerfully greeted, seemingly unaware that he seemed to yelling the guild down as Ash and May quickly covered their ears while he was speaking. Once he was quiet, May slowly lifted her ears up and turned her glance to Diglett.

"Is he naturally this loud?" she asked quietly so Loudred wouldn't hear her. "I'm afraid so. It's just something we have to manage every day." Diglett replied, nodding as far as his head could go. Loudred didn't seem to pay any attention to this conversation as he spoke again.

"You KIDDING, Diglett? I LOVE being loud! It means that EVERYONE in the GUILD can hear me!" Loudred continued, the volume of his voice seemingly being loud enough to nearly bring the building down on them. Ash and May were both shaking on the ground, both of them having their ears pulled down to try and drown out the noise.

"All... I can hear... is my ears ringing..." Ash groaned. "Ugh... yeah..." May agreed. Just then, the four turned their heads to see Chatot come out of Wigglytuff's room with an expression of anger.

"Loudred, could you please keep it down over there?! Your voice is loud enough to bring the roof down on us!" Chatot snapped. Loudred showed an expression of surprise hearing this before he replied "SORRY, Chatot!" Unfortunately, that proved to be a bit too loud for his own good because Chatot didn't have enough time to block his ears as he was blown into Wigglytuff's room by the sheer force of the voice and from they were standing, Ash and May flinched as they heard him crash into something inside the room.

"Chatot! You okay?" The two could then hear Wigglytuff ask. They then heard clattering coming from inside the room, followed by a few pearls rolling out of the room into the hallway they were in; it seemed that Chatot had slammed into one of the treasure chests.

"I think that was a no..." May simply commented. "Chatot will probably be feeling that in the morning." Ash added. The two looked at each other in silence for a few seconds before turning their attention back to Diglett and Loudred.

"So you two are apprentices here as well?" May asked. "That's right. We run the sentry post down here. How it works is that a Pokemon stands on the grate you probably saw at the entrance, I examine the footprint and identify the Pokemon before calling it down to Loudred and then he lets the Pokemon in once he decides to do so." Diglett explained. Ash and May both stared in silence, the two of them wondering if the other understood all of that, before they both nodded in understanding.

"That sounds great! I'll bet it's not a lot of fun being stuck in that one place for a long time." Ash commented. "Yeah, it's a bit of a long job, but it's worth it getting to let visitors in. My dad also works here too." Diglett replied. Ash and May both showed expressions of surprise hearing this.

"Your dad? And who would that be?" May asked.

"That would be us!" At the immediate moment that voice popped up, Ash and May were met with a shock as three Diglett, connected as one, popped its head out from the ground: it was a Dugtrio. "Pleasure to meet you two. I'm Dugtrio." Dugtrio said. Diglett quickly showed a big smile upon seeing him.

"Hi, Dad!" Diglett cheerfully said. Dugtrio turned around to face Diglett showing a matching smile. "Hello, my son. Have you been working hard at the sentry post as usual?" Dugtrio asked.

"I sure have! And we've also got two new apprentices here with us. Dad, meet Ash and May!" Diglett replied, turning his head to Ash and May who both waved to Dugtrio. Dugtrio then turned his three heads to the two, all of them showing matching big smiles.

"It's a please to meet you two. I assume you both became apprentices just recently?" Dugtrio asked. Ash and May both nodded in agreement; that was indeed the case. "That's wonderful news! I have a feeling you two will do very well in your training." Dugtrio commented.

"Dad helps with updating the job boards on the next floor up. What happens is that each day, Dad flips the panels over and replaces the old jobs with new ones. It's a job that isn't noticed that much, but Dad still takes pride in it regardless." Diglett explained. Ash and May were both listening to this with matching smiles, but then Ash's ears perked up as he seemed to smell something coming from the left hallway.

"Something sure smells good..." Ash commented. With this, he started to walk off and made his way down to the left hallway while May and the others watched in surprise.

"Ash, where are you going? Come back!" May called. As she started to run after him, she turned and looked back to the others. "Sorry to cut this conversation short, but I've got to catch up with Ash. It was nice meeting you all, though!" May said, showing a bright smile before she rushed after Ash into the hallway on the left. The remaining group of four watched in silence before Dugtrio spoke.

"They're both very friendly, aren't they?" Dugtrio asked. The others nodded in agreement while from inside Wigglytuff's room, Chatot could be heard groaning "Oh, why me..." in dismay.

Ash continued his way down the hallway before he came into a large room; there was a long table set up with several chairs and plates for each place and at the end of the room, there was several baskets full of Berries, Apples and different types of Gummis. As Ash looked around with a smile of awe seeing how much food there was, he noticed that there was a small round Pokemon inside; her body was shaped like a furin wind chime and it was coloured bluish white. She also had beady yellow eyes, stubby arms, a yellow globular growth on the top of her head, which seemed to look like a suction cup, and a long tag-like tail underneath her body that had amaranth patterning near the bottom: it was a Chimecho. As Chimecho was busy looking over the food to see how much there was for dinner, she heard Ash walking over from behind her and turned around, showing a big smile upon seeing him. "Well, hi there! I'm Chimecho. Who might you be?" she asked. Before Ash could reply, he heard May calling from behind him.

"Ash, there you are! You really should let me know when you start to wander off like that." May said, showing an expression of annoyance. Ash showed a nervous smile and started to scratch the back of his head, while May walked over to Chimecho, showing an expression of concern, and bowed her head in apology. "I'm sorry about coming in rudely like this. We didn't mean to do it on purpose." May said. Ash stared at May in surprise before following suit, while Chimecho looked at them in surprise before a bright smile quickly crossed her face.

"Oh, that's not a problem at all! It's really great to meet you two. My name's Chimecho. Who might you two be?" Chimecho asked. Ash and May both lifted their heads up, showing matching expressions of surprise that Chimecho wasn't upset about them rudely coming in, before they showed matching smiles at the fact that she simply wanted to know who they were.

"My name's May and this is Ash." May replied. "We just became apprentices here at the guild today." Ash added. Chimecho quickly showed a big smile upon hearing this and then she floated up into the air in excitement.

"Yay, that's great! I'm guessing that just happened, right?" she asked. Ash and May both nodded in agreement. Chimecho then floated down to the two with a big smile still retaining on her face. "That's great to hear! I was just going to start getting dinner ready for tonight. I'll bet you two might want to eat early tonight; you must have had a long day, am I right?" Chimecho asked. Ash and May both showed expressions of surprise hearing this, before the two then heard their stomachs start to growl and showed nervous smiles.

"Now that you mention it, we have had a bit of a long day..." Ash replied. Chimecho couldn't help herself giggling seeing this and then she nodded in understanding. "That's not a problem! You two make yourselves comfortable at the seats over there and I'll get your dishes ready for you." Chimecho explained, pointing to two empty seats on the right side of the table. Ash and May both walked over and hopped onto the seats so they were sitting next to each other while Chimecho grabbed their plates and turned their attention to the food stored to start getting their dinner ready.

While Ash and May were waiting, the two turned their glances to each other. "Can you believe it? We get to have dinner before the others do!" May happily commented. Ash showed a big smile and nodded, noticing how lucky they were. "I know! This is already getting off to be a great start to our time as apprentices." Ash agreed. Just then, the two saw Chimecho turn to them holding their dishes, which were full of different types of Apples, Berries and Gummis.

"Here we go, you two. Dinner is served!" Chimecho announced, placing each plate in front of the two. Ash and May both showed big smiles before they quickly got to work with munching away while Chimecho watched the two in surprise. "Wow, they must have been really hungry if they're getting it down that quick." Chimecho commented to herself. After a few seconds, Ash and May both turned to her with their plates empty and big smiles on their faces.

"Thanks, Chimecho. That was a great dinner!" Ash happily commented. May then showed an expression of concern realising something; if she and Ash got to eat before everyone else did, that meant they would probably be wondering why there was less for them. "Are you sure you won't get into trouble for serving us first?" she worriedly asked.

Chimecho simply shook her head, as if she didn't have a problem with it. "No, it's okay. I'll just tell them that our stock was a bit low today. They won't even notice a difference. It was nice meeting you two!" Chimecho replied, cheerfully waving as Ash and May made their way out of the Mess Hall.

"Nice to meet you too, Chimecho! And thanks for the dinner!" Ash replied as he and May made their way out of the main hallway again. Once they got out there, the two looked around to see that they had covered everyone on this floor. "Well, I think that covers everyone here. Why don't we see who we can meet on the next floor?" Ash suggested. May nodded in agreement, so the two climbed up the ladder to get the next floor.

When they arrived on the top, Ash and May both looked around to see who they should meet first and Ash noticed two Pokemon just nearby standing in front of one of the job boards; one was a brown rodent-like Pokemon with four short legs, a short dark brown snout, a small red nose, cream coloured markings that covered its underside and surrounded its face, and large incisors protruding from its upper jaw, while the other was a sunflower-like Pokemon with a green trunk and limbs, a circular cream coloured head which had yellow petals growing around the rim and leaves extending like arms on its body: the two were Bidoof and Sunflora respectively. "I think those two seem like a good place to start." May commented, pointing to the two while Ash turned his head to notice them. With this, the two walked over while Sunflora and Bidoof were engaged in a conversation. "Uh, excuse me?" May asked. Upon hearing May ask for them, Bidoof and Sunflora both turned their heads to them and the first one to react was Sunflora who quickly showed a bright smile and quickly rushed over to them.

"Wait, don't say a thing! I recognize you two. You're the ones Chatot was talking to earlier, right? You were asking about registering at this guild?" Sunflora asked. Ash and May both stared in silence before they slowly nodded in confirmation. Upon hearing that, Sunflora leapt up in excitement. "Oh my gosh, I was right! You two are even cuter up close! Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh!" Sunflora exclaimed, running back and forth in excitement while Ash and May stared in bewilderment and Bidoof simply watched with a smile of amusement. After a few seconds, Sunflora stopped and turned to face them. "Pleased to meet you two! My name's Sunflora! And I'm a fellow apprentice at the guild." Sunflora greeted, holding an arm up to them. Ash and May were both at a loss of words having just witnessed her excited outburst, and they were both silent before Ash spoke up.

"Uh... it's nice to meet you, Sunflora. I'm Ash and this is May." Ash replied, looking over at May who showed a bright smile and lifted a paw up to wave to Sunflora. Almost immediately, Sunflora ran over to May and picked her up while Ash watched in surprise wondering what had gotten into her.

"Oh my gosh, look at you, May! You have got to be the cutest thing I've ever seen!" Sunflora excitedly commented. She then tossed May up into the air before catching her in her arms while Ash and Bidoof watched in silence.

"Is she always like this?" Ash asked, turning to Bidoof. Bidoof simply showed a smile before nodding in agreement. "She's usually a bit excitable, yup yup." Bidoof replied. Ash nodded in understanding before turning his attention back to Sunflora who placed May back down safely next to him.

"Well, that was fun. But where are our manners? Bidoof, care to introduce yourself?" Sunflora asked, turning her head to her partner who had been watching all the while. Bidoof showed a big smile and immediately nodded before looking over at Ash and May.

"Well, it's great to meet y'all! The name's Bidoof." Bidoof greeted. Ash and May both showed a bright smile and waved, knowing there was one rational Pokemon in this duo. "So, how come you're both here?" Bidoof asked; he remembered spotting them with Chatot earlier, but didn't get a chance to hear what they were doing.

"We just registered as apprentices here; we're now officially an exploration team." May explained. Bidoof's first reaction was to stare in shock, while Sunflora's was showing a big smile on her face and then she started to run back and forth across the room again.

"Oh my gosh, this is so exciting! We have two new arrivals here!" Sunflora cheered, running back and forth across the room while the others nearby turned to see her and stared in silence for a few seconds before they all made their way up the ladder to get out of the guild as quick as they could; they didn't want to be around while this was going on. After a few more moments, Sunflora stopped running and turned to face Ash and May with a big smile. "Wow, that's so exciting! You two are just starting today, right? That's great! That means you'll have us in the guild to teach you everything we know." Sunflora cheerfully commented. While that was happening, Bidoof could only stare with tears building in his eyes and a big smile on his face. Sunflora turned her head to see this and showed an expression of concern. "Bidoof, what's the matter?" she asked.

"Oh, I'm feeling overjoyed! I used to be the most recent rookie here, but now that you two have signed on, I have members junior to me! I think I might start blubbering in happiness..." Bidoof explained. Sunflora simply showed a smile of understanding and wrapped her arms around Bidoof as he brushed his tears away, while Ash and May watched with matching bright smiles.

"Oh, it's okay, Bidoof. I can't agree more with how exciting it is to have new members. We need to set them a good example and show them what this guild is all about. Does that sound good?" Sunflora asked. Bidoof turned to Sunflora and nodded with a big smile. "Yup yup! I'll do just that, by golly!" Bidoof replied. Sunflora showed a bright smile at this reply and then the two turned to Ash and May.

"I think we'll hit the hay early tonight; after all, we have to get enough rest in if we want to be ready for tomorrow. We'll see you two in the morning!" Sunflora said. With this, she and Bidoof made their way to the ladder leading to the bottom ladder and climbed down, leaving Ash and May by themselves again. When it was just them again, Ash and May turned their heads to each other.

"I think we better do the same thing. We'll probably be starting our training, so we should get moving to our rooms too." May commented. Ash nodded in agreement, so the two started to head over to the ladder leading to the bottom ladder. But as they were walking over, May didn't notice someone having just arrived down on the floor they were in, so she accidently slammed head-first into the Pokemon in question and the two fell over backwards while Ash watched in surprise before running over to May as she stood up.

"May, are you okay?" Ash asked. May shook her head rapidly and then turned to Ash before nodding. "Yeah, I'm alright. But who was that I ran into?" May asked in reply. She then turned her head to see who it was she accidently bumped into; it was a bipedal, reptilian Pokemon with a green body that had a cream-coloured underside, along with a yellow stripe that ran down around its back and tail, along with yellow markings around its big brown eyes. It also had two curved yellow structures that resembled leaves on its shoulders and a large, palmate leaf with three prongs on the ends of its tail; it seemed to be a male. May quickly showed an expression of concern as the Pokemon stood up rubbing the side of his head. "Oh, I'm so sorry! Are you okay?" May quickly asked.

The Pokemon shook his head before turning his glance to the two. "Yeah, I'm fine. But next time, could you make sure you stand out of the way when someone's coming down the ladder?" he asked, before turning his head to Ash and May and then showed a bright smile. "Well, hello there! My name's Francis. Who might you two be?" he asked. Ash and May both showed matching expressions of surprise before they showed matching smiles, glad to see that the Pokemon wasn't upset about May accidently running into him.

"My name's Ash and this is May. What sort of Pokemon are you supposed to be? I don't think I've seen any kind of Pokemon like you before." Ash commented, staring at Francis in puzzlement wondering what he was supposed to be, while May shook her head in agreement with Ash.

"I guessing you haven't heard of me before? I can't really blame you. I'm a Snivy, and over here is my partner, Luna the Oshawott." Francis replied, turning his head to face the Pokemon standing beside him, only to find that there was no one beside him. Francis showed an expression of surprise before he started to look around, seeing that the room seemed to be empty. "Where could she have gone now? I could have sworn she was coming here with me. If she's playing one of her tricks again..." Francis sighed to himself.

While he was looking around, he didn't notice someone sneaking up behind him; it was a small bipedal otter-like Pokemon with a round white head that had black eyes, small triangular dark blue ears and a dark orange nose as well as small black freckles on her cheeks, along a small scalchop on her light blue belly, dark blue feet and a dark blue tail: it was Luna. She showed a cheeky smile and covered her mouth to try and restrain herself from giggling. "Here I am!" Luna cheerfully announced. Francis let out a scream of alarm as he stumbled backwards and turned his head to see Luna laughing like silly at her prank, to which he quickly showed an expression of irritation.

"Luna! How many times have I told you not to sneak up on me like that?!" Francis snapped, struggling to catch his breath; he was certain that he nearly had a heart attack that time. Luna then stopped laughing for a few seconds while still retaining a big grin. "Sorry, Francis. But...you should have seen your face! Oh, it was priceless..." Luna replied, before she quickly resumed laughing, falling over on her back and kicking her legs in the process.

Francis stared at her before letting out a sigh of dismay as he slowly shook his head. "What am I going to do about you..." he silently asked himself. He then turned his head back to Ash and May and showed a nervous smile. "Sorry about my partner. She can be a bit... energetic and unpredictable. I never know what she'll do next..." Francis explained. He then turned his head as Luna walked over, having finally calmed down enough to find out what was happening. "Luna, I'd like you to meet Ash and May." Francis said, pointing to the two. Luna turned her head to look at Ash and May and quickly showed a big smile as she jumped up in excitement.

"Wow, it's so nice to meet you two! My name's Luna. I work alongside Francis and we're adventurers at our own Pokemon Paradise. I just love meeting different kinds of Pokemon and getting to make friends with them! It's always so exciting!" Luna happily cheered. Ash and May stared in stunned silence while Francis let out a silent sigh and turned to Luna with a nervous smile, trying to figure out how to get her to calm down.

"All right, Luna, let's bring the excitement level down a bit. We don't want you to use up all your energy, do we?" Francis asked. Luna turned to Francis and promptly nodded with a big smile. "Will do! There's no time to waste; there are more Pokemon to find and more places to be. See you later!" Luna cheerfully replied, before she rushed off and climbed up the ladder to head out of the guild. Francis was left standing like a sitting duck before he let out a groan and placed his head in an open hand.

"Oh, why did I have to get stuck with someone like her..." Francis sighed to himself. He then turned his head to Ash and May with a concerned expression on his face. "Sorry to leave so soon; I have to catch up with Luna before she does something stupid again. It was nice meeting you two." Francis said. He then walked over to the ladder and climbed up it, yelling out "Luna, wait for me!"

Ash and May could only look on in silence for a few seconds before May simply asked "What... just happened?"

Sometime later, the night sky was shining with stars and the full moon was out, and Ash and May were in their room getting ready to turn in for the night. "Man, what a long day this has been. I've been nervous like crazy about everything, but I'm glad I finally managed to come here." May commented as she and Ash were lying on their beds. Ash showed a bright smile and nodded in agreement.

"Me too. I actually thought Wigglytuff would be a bit scary, but he actually seems really friendly. And it was really great to get to meet everyone else who works at the guild." Ash agreed. He then looked out the window to see the night sky and then turned to May. "I think it's getting late. We might need to turn in now." Ash commented.

"Yeah, I think so too. We're starting our training tomorrow, but I'm not feeling very nervous about it. In fact, I'm looking forward to seeing what we'll find; I can't wait to find out what adventures we'll have!" May agreed, with a smile of excitement crossing her face as she was starting to think about where she and Ash would go and what discoveries they would make. She then let out a yawn before turning to Ash. "I'm starting to feel sleepy. Let's do our best at the start of our training tomorrow! Goodnight, Ash." May said, before she lay down on the bed and closed her eyes.

"Goodnight, May." Ash replied. With this, he lay down on his bed and closed his eyes, with the two soon falling asleep after a few seconds. But despite being asleep, there was something Ash was still thinking about. _'To think I'm now an apprentice at the guild. I have to admit, it's exciting to be on an exploration team and it's fun being with May. But question: how did I get turned into a Pokemon? And how did I get washed up on the beach anyway? I guess there's no point in worrying about it now. I better focus on the guild's training for now. If I keep focused on that, maybe I'll figure out everything soon. I'll figure out what's going on in no time...'_ Ash thought to himself. With this, he dropped to sleep thinking about one thing: what would await him and May during their training, what places they would see and what discoveries they were going to make.


End file.
